Craft breweries provide a nurturing space for innovation and experimentation. With the invention of new styles and hybrids all the time, craft brewers have a lot of material to work with. Now, two Florida craft breweries are continuing to push the bounds of creativity, and are brewing a beer using Krispy Kreme doughnuts – though let’s be clear, this isn’t the first doughnut chain to get into the brewing action, as Dunkin Donuts brewed a beer earlier this fall.
Hidden Springs Ale Works and Arkane Aleworks have partnered to brew a Russian imperial stout using two different kinds of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The breweries made two batches of the beer, with one featuring glazed Krispy Kremes and the other using cream-filled Krispy Kremes. And it clocks in at a whopping 12.5 percent alcohol by volume.
Russian imperial stouts typically exhibit coffee, chocolate, and roasted malt flavors, are dark in appearance, and are highly alcoholic. The addition of the Krispy Kreme doughnuts lends a sweetness to the brew. “It’s going to be roasty, chocolatey, hopefully with some doughnut flavor,” Hidden Springs founder Josh Garman told the Tampa Bay Times. “We’re actually hoping to get some of the glaze from the Krispy Kremes to come through.”
This isn’t the first time Hidden Springs and Arkane have experimented with sweets and pastries, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Hidden Springs brews a mainstay beer called Peanut Butter Deja Moo, which is brewed using chocolate and peanut butter. Arkane has even dabbled with Peeps and Skittles for some of its brews.
The breweries will release the new Russian imperial stout next month, and it will be available on draught and in bottles. Now, all that’s left to do is come up with a name. “We have some we’re kicking around, but we’ll come up with some sort of funny name for it,” Garman told the Tampa Bay Times. You might have to pair the new brew with a Krispy Kreme to appreciate the full experience.
